


bumps in the long road

by wolfgangbombadeus



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Adorable Thor (Marvel), Bruce Banner Has Issues, Bruce Banner is Peter's Uncle, Bruce isn’t ready to be a father, Kidfic, M/M, Mpreg, Peter is a Little Shit, Pregnancy Cravings, Protective Bruce Banner, Thor loves children
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 20:39:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16025570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfgangbombadeus/pseuds/wolfgangbombadeus
Summary: Finally, Thor says, “I’ll carry the baby.”His husband freezes.“What?”“I’m mainly known as the god of thunder, but I’m also the god of fertility.” He explains, “Technically, I can bear children if I want. And, I want.”Holy shit.





	1. Chapter 1

While they’re getting ready for bed and Bruce is way too invested in some science fiction novel, Thor says he wants to talk.

Now, for the past couple of months Thor has been spending most of his time visiting children at the hospital. Milligan’s Children Hospital is the closest location to their home in New York and their Make A Wish foundation is led by a very handsome man named Adam Greene. 

Adam has come over for dinner a few times, he and Thor becoming fast friends simply because of convenience.

It isn’t that Bruce is jealous of Adam, he’s only a nice, smart, young, and handsome man who’s never been anything but nice to him. However that’s part of the problem, he’s never acted any other way. His cool, professional demeanor seems a little bit strange to Bruce but Thor insists that’s just his personality. 

So, when his husband tells him that he wants to talk, Bruce assumes that it’s about nice, smart, young and handsome Adam Greene who has taken up all of his time. 

However, he had never anticipated this. 

“How do you feel about children?” 

Bruce’s face curls, “They’re okay.” 

Thor nods and then, “What about babies?” 

The brunette man looks at his husband in confusion, “They can’t talk back or intentionally do harm so, better than children.” 

“Okay.” The blonde man says, dragging out the a vowel with a nervous look on his face. 

“...why?” 

Thor takes a deep breathe, “I want to have a baby.” 

Thor wants to have a baby?

Bruce takes a moment to think about what this means. Adoption agencies are extremely strict, with a set list of criteria for all parents and rules that need to be followed. If they adopted, they’d probably have to get a bigger house. 

Even if they got past the list of rules and they moved, how many agencies would want to give a newborn to a man who can turn into a monster? 

If they apply and get denied, how will Bruce take it knowing that because of him, his husband won’t get what he wants?

Still, he asks. “You want us to adopt a kid?” 

Thor shakes his head, “It should be natural.” He stops himself, “Not that adopted kids aren’t natural, I mean it should be more personal.” 

Thor wants someone else to carry their baby? 

Bruce doesn’t want a stranger being their surrogate, as ridiculous as it may seem, he doesn’t want to have to get to know a new person who will just judge and be wary of him all throughout her pregnancy. 

So it will have to be someone they know, preferably someone they know well. Natasha is obviously out of the question, though he’s sure if she could she’d be happy to do it. 

Given the way things ended between her and Thor, Jane would certainly say no. The couple isn’t close enough to Wanda for them to even ask, but he guesses it won’t hurt to try?

Regardless of who carried the baby, all that matters to Bruce is that it’s born 50% Thor and 100% Hulk DNA free. Thor has all of the good genes anyway, being a literal god and devilishly handsome. 

“Who were you thinking of?” Bruce questions, “As a surrogate?” 

Thor glances away, looking nervous and clearly thinking about his next words. 

This makes Bruce’s brain run wild, did he already call Jane and convince her to do it? Sure, he liked the woman but he didn’t want to have to deal with her for the rest of his life! 

Finally, Thor says, “I’ll carry the baby.” 

His husband freezes.

“What?” 

“I’m mainly known as the god of thunder, but I’m also the god of fertility.” He explains, “Technically, I can bear children if I want. And, I want.” 

Holy shit.

Bruce pushes up his glasses, “What?” 

Thor just laughs, sounding a bit nervous. 

“W-why’ve you never mentioned this before? Have I been able to get you pregnant this entire time?” The doctor exclaims anxiously, eyed wide.

All that he can think about is how he selfishly makes Thor bottom most of the times they have sex, maybe Bruce would’ve had something different to say if he’d know his husband could’ve gotten pregnant.

“No, no!” Thor reassures, “At my will, a uterus will form over time.”

“Jesus, that’s amazing.” Bruce mumbles, completely missing the prideful look on Thor’s face. “What made you decide you wanted children?”

The blonde furrows his brows in confusion, “I’ve always wanted children.”

Of course he has.

Funny enough, Bruce has never wanted children, he’s never even been with a person long enough to entertain the idea of children.

That is, until Thor. 

“Right, but.” He starts with a small frown. “Why do you want them now?” 

He doesn’t mean for it to come out so hateful, but it does. And his tone doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Maybe if you spent time with children like I do, you’d see how wonderful they are. I think we’ve married long enough to start thinking about a family, am I wrong?” Thor argues, face curling a bit. 

Bruce rubs the back of his head, “We’ve never talked about it before, baby. I don’t…” 

Fuck, he really didn’t want to say it. He didn’t want to see his husbands beautiful face fall in disappointment and sadness. 

“You don’t want to have kids?” 

Bruce looks away from his piercing blue eyes. 

“Ever?” Thor asks, voice cracking. 

Bruce sighs, “Baby-“ 

He doesn’t get a chance to finish before Thor stands up and storms into their bathroom. 

The brunette rubs his face with a sigh. 

He knew this was going to happen, he knew Thor would end up upset. If Bruce was being honest, he wanted to try kids with Thor but he’s terrified. Brian Banner was an evil, angry man and somehow Bruce adopted that anger. 

How would he be able to live with himself if he hurt his own child? If he did what his own father did to him? 

The horrible sound of vomit interrupts his thoughts. 

Cautiously, Bruce exits his bed and walks over to their bathroom door. “Thor?” He calls out, knocking softly. 

“Go away!” A muffled voice shouts, followed by more vomiting. 

Bruce rolls his eyes, “You’re clearly sick, let me help you.”

A sniffle, then, “Sick of your face!” Thor yells in a childlike manner. 

He sighs, then slowly opens the bathroom door.

Thor is kneeled over the toilet bowl with sweat on his forehead and a hand on the counter to brace himself. “Go away.” He tells him in a breath, frowning deeply. 

It doesn’t take Bruce any more time to notice the soft tears falling down Thor’s face. He steps over to his husbands crouching, crying figure and runs his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry.” 

These words trigger Thor into crying harder, his tears seeping through Bruce’s thin, flannel pajama bottoms after he turns his head into his leg. The brunette crouches down to his level, cups his lover’s face and wipes away a tear that rolls down his cheek. “Please don’t cry.” 

God, he really couldn’t take seeing him cry. Thor, his strongest Avenger is crying on the bathroom floor. “Baby, there’s still a possibility that the gamma radiation won’t allow me to have children.” 

The blonde man sniffles, “I doubt it.” 

Bruce freezes, “What do you mean?”

His dark brown eyes stare into Thor’s glossy, sea blue ones. The blonde takes a deep breath before answering, “I’m pregnant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so excited for this ((((:


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thor and brunnhilde talk, he and bruce don’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! I added "chapter three" to the end of this chapter to make it longer. enjoy! (:

“Pregnant.” Bruce repeats, “H-how?” 

Thor looks up at him in disbelief, “You fucked me and then came inside of me” 

He sighs, “I understand that part, I’m talking about how your uterus formed.” 

The back of his hand is used to wipe some spit before he speaks, “Spending time among all those children must have caused it to form without me noticing.” 

Bruce wants to say something but the only thing on his mind is, fuck fuck fuck fUCK FUCK FUCK! 

“I’m sorry.” Thor mumbles, sitting up and away from the toilet bowl. 

The words pull him out of his mind, “Don’t be sorry, I’m sorry.”

Thor ignores him, flushing the toilet from his knees and then standing up and stepping to the sink.

“I’m sorry that I’m not as...excited as you want me to be.” 

“Don’t pretend like you’re happy.” He snaps, washing his hands furiously. 

Bruce gets to his feet, “I’ve never thought about having kids before, you gotta give me some time to adjust!”

The blonde man swishes water around his mouth then spits it out into the sinks, “Don't worry about it.” He replies, sounding annoyed. 

Again, all his brain can come up with is fuck fuck fuck fUCK FUCK FUCK! 

As expected, Thor is even more upset. When the conversation first started Bruce had anticipated this- an argument. But, now they weren’t even arguing! 

Thor is giving him the silent treatment! Which makes Bruce upset because whenever they argue, Bruce likes to give the silent treatment- it’s frustrating having it used against him. 

When he follows him out of the bathroom, he’s lacing up his hardly worn pair of green Converse. 

“We’re not gonna talk?” 

“Not right now.” Thor replies, pulling a black coat off his hanger in the closet. “I need time to think.” 

Bruce huffs, “Fine.” 

“That’s all you’re going to say? Fine?” Thor asks in disbelief.

“Why, you expect me to fight you? You want to leave? Go!” Bruce exclaims, face scrunching up in anger.

Thor says nothing else as he storms out of their bedroom, steps booming as he then leaves through the front door. 

…

“I’m guessing he took it poorly?” A sultry voice asks after opening the front door and seeing his face. Thor shakes his head as he pulls off his jacket, hanging it on the coat rack he gave her as a housewarming gift (she used to just throw her things on the floor). 

“You should’ve seen the look on his face, Val.” Thor says in a raspy voice. “He looked like it was the end of the world.” 

Brunnhilde sucks her teeth, “Don’t worry too much, buddy. Bruce is strong willed, you know that. He’ll come around he’s just not used to the idea yet.” 

Thor’s husband is strong willed, you’ll have a hard time trying to get Bruce Banner to do something that he doesn’t want to, it’s just the way he is. 

Will this situation end the same way? Gods, he loves Bruce with all that he has but, sometimes he fears that the man will imagine that he’s not good enough to be happy and just leave. 

“He told me he doesn’t want children.” 

“What?” Her dark brown eyebrows furrow, “When?” 

“Thirty seconds before he discovered I was pregnant.”

“Dude!” She exclaims, hitting his shoulder lightly. “You’re supposed to talk about children before you get pregnant.”

He throws his head back against the couch dramatically, “I just assumed that we were on the same page.” 

Having kids was something he wanted to talk about but, the aftermath of the war overtook their lives and every day was spent toward recovery. 

Back when Thor was actively the King of Asgard, part of his job was making himself familiar with his people and all of their children. And back when he loved to brag, he took great pride in being adored by all of the kids of his kingdom. 

There hasn’t ever been any part of him that didn’t want children, even when he himself was a child he and Sigyn would fantasize about being married and having children together. 

Although Odin wasn’t in the running for The Galaxy's Best Father he still loved his sons and daughter and tried to do what he thought was best for them. The areas where Odin lacked, he was determined to thrive in. 

It breaks Thor’s heart knowing that Bruce doesn’t want that.

“What are you thinking?” Her deep but soft voice asks him. 

Thor takes a deep breath, the vision of his brown skinned friend becoming blurred with tears that fill his eyes. “I love him.” He begins, blinking the tears out. “I’d sooner get hit by a bus than hurt him. And I have been hit by a bus before, it really hurt.” 

“But...if he doesn’t want this baby I don’t know what I’ll-“ His voice cracks at the end before a sob escapes his lips. “I just w-want him to be as happy as me.”

Brunnhilde sighs and plops down onto the couch next to him; wrapping an arm around him before she speaks, “Then talk to him, okay? No more storming out just because you’re upset.” 

Thor is too choked up to speak. When he left the house, all he felt was this overwhelming sense of anger and sadness; he didn’t even have a destination in mind.

Staying and talking would’ve been the adult thing to do but, he could tell Bruce was starting to get upset as well and the last thing he wanted was for either of them to hurt each other further. 

If Loki had lived a little closer, he probably would’ve been on his couch in distress instead of on Brun’s. Nothing against the woman, she’s his close friend but, Loki is his brother. 

He was the first to find out about the pregnancy. 

When Thor looked down at the positive test he found himself getting on the next plane to California. It was easy to explain away to Bruce, he missed his brother and wanted catch up with him. Both of those things were true of course but, they didn’t cause him to shake the entire journey over. 

Loki was certainly surprised to see him, although more than a little annoyed that Thor didn’t even bother sending a text message before he hopped on a plane to his home. But, they chatted a bit before Thor told him. 

“I’m pregnant.” 

And it was weird because it was the first time he said it out loud and the words felt so strange on his tongue. 

“Oh? Okay.” Is what Loki had said and it was probably about the best reaction Thor could’ve hoped for. 

After everything that went down, almost losing each other, it really opened their eyes to how much they honestly love and care about each other. Loki is still a prick and Thor is still arrogant but they accept each other in ways they didn’t before. 

Together they talked about the unknown possibility of what the child could even be, possessing both the genes of a god and a rage monster. Loki said he expected kids to come a lot earlier in their relationship, Thor didn’t say anything to that. 

It was nice, talking to him again, and if he weren’t on the other side of the country they’d be talking once more.

A text notification breaks him out of his thoughts. 

Brun looks down at her phone with a small smile. “Told you.” 

He wipes some tears away, “What?” 

She turns the phone in his direction so he can read the text message. 

Bruce  
Tell Thor that I love him and that he can come home when he’s ready.

Thor‘s heart skips a beat. He really does need to talk to him, he just hopes that they’ll both end the conversation unscathed.

…

Bruce sits on their bed for about ten minutes, mind racing and stopping, then reeling and back to normal. 

Thor’s pregnant.

His husband, Thor, is pregnant.

He got his husband Thor, pregnant. 

Holy shit. 

They were gonna have a baby. A real life baby that would be born and then grow up and be able to speak, and walk and-

It’s half of Bruce. 

Which means some of Hulk, which means that the kid is gonna have a pretty tough life. Bruce flexes his fingers, trying to will away the green hue they were starting to become. He can’t do this. 

Finally, he moves from their bed, and goes into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. 

When he takes a sip, he’s disappointed to find that it tastes like shit, but not surprised. Thor made it this morning, with no tact as usual. 

Bruce usually makes it, but his husband wanted to be sweet and try too. He poured him a cup, and watched with anticipation as he took the first sip. It was hard for him to hide his grimace, but he still did it; Thor had no idea his taste buds were in agony. Bruce thanked him and then he smiled, and then they kissed, and all thoughts of the shitty coffee and his agony drifted away.

Bruce takes another sip, he really misses him. 

It’s always been nice being that couple who never fights. Tony always made jokes about how they’re like robots, but that was mostly projection of the bitterness in his marriage. Sometimes they argue over serious things, but Bruce is so afraid of the Hulk that he can never fully express his full anger- so he just he chooses the silent treatment.

Even though he’s never hurt Thor, and he never will, he still gets worried. Most of the time, he has a tight grip on the other side of himself. Hulk is his friend now, they’ve been through a lot of shit and, Hulk will never hurt Thor either. They both love him.

A baby.

A fucking baby, that can get him mad and trigger something happening. 

He can’t do this. 

Not that he wants too, anyway.

Children don’t fix things, he’s seen that firsthand with Tony and Steve. They adopted Peter hoping it would fix the shitty things between them, and the sweet boy just made it worse. After they got divorced, Peter started coming over more often. He loves having him, they spend a lot of time in the lab together, Bruce showing him experiments and listening to his ideas. 

Sometimes they talk and Peter cries, sometimes they don’t talk at all. 

Bruce doesn’t want that for his future child, he couldn’t handle not being with Thor, especially if they’re leaving a child behind who’ll have to suffer the consequences of their split.

He can’t do this.

Not like he hasn’t thought about it before.

A long time ago, with Betty, when things were more simple and he got full nights of sleep and the only thing that mattered was that he was in love. She wanted kids, so he wanted them too, and they talked about how many they’d have in their beautiful house away from the world. Bruce naturally only wanted one, but Betty was so ambitious and joked about how she’d never stop being pregnant. 

And now she’s gone. 

Holy shit, he can’t do this. 

His father was a cruel man, that’s something that can’t be denied. He was too busy slapping around his mother, to show Bruce how to be a good man; how to be a good father. There’s no one here now that can show him what to do, and he’s terrified. Holy shit, he’s terrified. 

When it’s getting late and Thor isn’t back yet, Bruce runs a bath to calm his nerves and the flickering of green on his irises. The water is scalding, but he’s too stressed to care. There’s a picture of the two of them next to the mirror above the sink. Bruce thought it was weird to put pictures in the bathroom, but Thor insisted. 

He does a lot of things because of his husband, a lot of good things. He sleeps more and eats when he’s supposed too, he doesn’t kill himself over his work anymore- sometimes he even asks for help. When he gets migraines, Thor likes to rub his hands and when he gets panic attacks, Thor brings him water and helps him breathe.  
Being in love is nice.

 

A little strange too, because Bruce never thought he’d get to feel this way again. The idea of someone accepting every part of him was just unbelievable. 

When they first met, Bruce didn’t care too much about him. Of course it was fascinating for an atheist like him to meet an actual god, but other than that they barely spoke. Even when they became friends, they were never close. It wasn’t until Ragnarok that the two of them actually got to know each other, and in that same time, Bruce fell in love with him. 

After that, every moment between them made him feel like he was on fire. Thor’s hands would linger on his when he passed him things and erupt butterflies in Bruce’s stomach. He tried so hard to ignore everything good about him, they pined for each other for so many months until Bruce made the best mistake of his life and kissed him. 

He loves him so much, he can’t even imagine a life without the blonde man in it. And there’s no way a baby is making him change his mind. 

He can do this. 

Because children aren’t all bad, he’s seen that firsthand with Tony and Steve. Adopting Peter was probably the best thing they’ve done for themselves, Tony is at his most happy when he’s with his son and it certainly shows. Peter, is a wonderful, amazing kid who’s also a genius and funny, and Bruce knows that Steve is so proud of how he’s turned out- and Bruce wants to feel that pride too. 

He can do this. 

Because he’s talked about it before with another person, but she wasn’t the right person. But Thor is, and their life is so simple, he’s getting full nights of sleep every day and the only thing that matters is how much they love each other. And maybe after the first one, he’ll want more, maybe he’ll fall in love with the idea of keeping Thor pregnant all of the time. 

He can do this.

Because fuck his father, fuck anyone who tells him he can’t! Bruce doesn’t know how to be a good father, but neither does Thor! They’ll help each other, learning together and figuring things out together. He’s gonna be a better father than his ever was. 

Bruce can do this because he’s not doing it alone. 

He gets out of the bathtub, and goes back into their bedroom to grab his cellphone. There’s only one place where he thinks his husband will be. 

He texts Valkyrie. 

Bruce  
Tell Thor that I love him and that he can come home when he’s ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know thor is crying a lot but frigga didn’t raise no bITCH I promise, he’s just pregnant and sad- bad bitch thor will be back eventually


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thor and bruce talk

As soon as Thor enters his home, the linger smell of cooking food fills his nostrils. He hangs his keys on the rack hanging on the wall beside his door, and journeys further inside. The kitchen shows no sign of being cooked in, all of the dishes are washed and put away, the floor is swept, and the counters had been wiped down.

He sighs, Bruce must have stress cleaned.

Walking through the door to the dining room, he sees the large table nicely set for two with glasses, a bottle of wine, and two place with nicely portioned out chicken, mashed potatoes, and grilled chicken.

“Hey.” A deep voice rumbles from behind.

He turns around.

Bruce stands with his hands clasped behind his back and his face curled in a cautious look. “You’re home.”

“I am.” Thor replies in a hard tone. He’s trying his best remember how upset he felt an hour ago, how he needs to let Bruce know that he’s upset, that his reaction to the pregnancy _hurt_ , and maybe guilt him a little bit. However when he sees his husband again, it’s hard to hold on to the anger and sadness that’s been that's been brewing for the past few hours.

“I made, um-” He steps toward Bruce, then scoots past him to gesture to their full plates. “I- food.” Sweat shines on his forehead while his weight shifts from each of his feet and his fingers fidget with a nervousness that Thor’s grown fond of.

It reminds him of the day Bruce proposed, the anxious look in his eyes, the way his leg shook all the way down to one knee. There wasn’t a doubt Thor was going to say yes, he isn’t exactly a subtle man and he had practically planned the wedding without there officially _being_ one.

A laugh escapes his lips, “I can see that.” Immediately after, he curses himself for being so soft.

 “I’m sorry, baby.” Bruce clenches his jaw, “I love you so much.”

Thor sighs, “I love you too-”

“N-no, you gotta let me finish. I’ve been thinking about this all day and if I don’t tell you now, I’m _pretty sure_ my brain will explode so-” He takes a breath.

 “When I told you I didn’t want to have kids, that was a lie. At first, the idea didn’t sound like something I’d care for but, ever since you left, it’s all I can think about.” Bruce bites his lip, “I’m scared, baby. What if we don’t raise it right? What if it’s like me? If I pass on the worst part of myself, the kid will suffer for the rest of its life and I’m just afraid of that happening. I’m so, so _terrified_ of everything that could possibly go wrong.”

The blonde man feels his heart wrench, “Me too!” He exclaims, wiping away moisture from his cheeks. 

“I know.” Bruce says with an anxious laugh, “But- but I realized that things are a lot less scary when, I’m doing them with _you_.” His brown eyes well up with tears. “I want to do this.”

 Thor isn’t sure if he can speak, joy rushes through his body and clogs his brain and he’s a bit worried it’s stopping him from forming coherent sentences. Instead he manages, “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Bruce confirms, nodding his head. “I can’t promise that I’ll be perfect, but I’m gonna try my best.”

And suddenly, it’s like Thor can breathe again. He takes his husband’s hand, “That’s all I can ask for.” Then he frowns, “Before, I should’ve told you about my occasional uterus- I’m sorry I didn’t, sometimes I forget about it because I don’t use it, but- nonetheless, I’m sorry. I love you.”

Bruce grins, “I love you too.”

There’s a few moments of meaningful silence between them, Thor smiles and gives his husband a kiss. Lips connected in pure joy, excitement, and love.

“We’re having a baby,” Thor says when they finally pull away, and then proceeds to get attacked by sweet kisses from Bruce.

The brunette pulls away, biting back a smirk. “You wanna go make another one?”

“Later.” Thor denies with a quiet giggle, “You prepared this wonderful meal, I want to enjoy it.” 

The brunette looks at him with a dopey smile, “Okay, let’s have dinner.”

 

…

 

_Thor_

Hey Helen, it’s Thor!

How are you?

 

**Helen**

Hey Thor, I’m doing well, how are you?

 

_Thor_

I’m doing good.

Bruce and I were wondering if you had

any ultrasound equipment in your lab.

 

**Helen**

?

Yes, I do.

Although I have to tell you,

I’m not that kind of Doctor.

 

Thor

Bruce said the same thing. We would

go to a regular hospital, but it’s better

if the details of our situation are kept discreet.

 

Helen

I understand

 

Thor

We know that you’re an extremely

busy woman, so let us know when

you’ll have a free time to meet with us.

 

Helen

Hold on, let me check.

I’m free on Wednesday from 11AM-3PM

I doubt it will take that long, though.

 

Thor

Thank you!

We really appreciate your help

And how private you’re being

About everything (:

 

Helen

Of course, Thor.

I’ll see the two of you on Wednesday.

 

…

 

“This isn’t too weird is it?”

Thor is laying down on a hospital gurney, fingers tapping at the plastic under him. His blue eyes are looking up hopefully at the black haired woman to the left of him. Even though the two of them were friends, he hadn’t fully explained his situation, so there was a small fear of being judged by her.

“Don’t worry,” Helen tells him with a reassuring smile. “Working for SHIELD, I’ve seen stranger things.”

Bruce arches an eyebrow, “Stranger than a pregnant man?” 

When the two of them walked in, she has asked who would be needing the ultrasound. Thor slowly raised his hand and gave her an awkward smile. She was only put back for a second, blinking surprised at them with her actions frozen. Then, she had snapped back into reality, “Alright.” She had said, and gestured Thor over to the gurney.

Helen didn’t ask any questions, which was nice, even though it wouldn’t have bothered them to answer. Thor was especially grateful, but he knew it was probably the most mellow reaction he’d receive after Loki.

Honestly, she’s probably the only person they trust enough to take care of their pregnancy. After the war, she permanently moved to New York and began working for SHIELD as a geneticist, and if she felt like it, Doctor to the Avengers. Sometimes Bruce invites her out to lunch or dinner, and they have nice talks.

She’s their friend, and she’s amazing. 

Helen shakes her head, “You wouldn’t believe me even if I could tell you.” The two of them watch as she prepares a few things, like squeezing a type of gel onto a remote control looking thing that was connected to the monitor.

Thor smiles, lifting up the bottom of his shirt to reveal his stomach. Most of his abs remain, but there’s a small, but noticeable bump. Bruce frowns, how did he not see this before?

 Sure, it’s been a while since they’ve had sex, which mostly has to do with the fact that they’re both always busy and when they’re not busy they’re tired. But, they’ve _looked_ at each other, they’ve slept in the same bed and cuddled each other and Bruce should’ve been able to tell his husband was pregnant.

Maybe he hasn’t been paying enough attention to him, and that annoys him. 

The blonde takes his husband’s hand with a smile, “Is this the cold part?”

 Helen smiles, “Yes.”

She presses the device against Thor’s stomach, spreading it around, “It might take a minute to find it but-“ 

Quiet, gentle beating sounds fill the room. “That’s your baby’s heartbeat.”

Thor gasps, clutching Bruce’s hand tightly.“By Odin’s beard, that’s a wonderful sound.”

 Helen smiles again, nodding her head. She moves it around, “These are it's legs, arms, and at the very top there’s it’s head.”

“It’s beautiful.” Thor breathes.

Bruce is about to comment how the baby looks more like an alien than a human, but Thor’s grinning with an eyeful of tears, so he decides to keep that to himself. “It is.”

“I’ll print this picture out for you.”

“Yes.” Bruce smiles, “Thank you for everything.”

 

…

 

They’re two seconds away from leaving the building when they got stopped. Literally, Bruce holds the door open for Thor with his left hand and the ultrasound picture in his right. “Bruce!” A voice calls, scaring him and causing the door handle slips from his fingers.

“Ow.” Thor exclaims, the metal door colliding with his shoulder.

“Shit,” Bruce mumbles under his breath, pulling the door back and rubbing his husband’s shoulder in apology.

Tony Stark walks up to them, a confused smile on his face. “What are you guys doing here? There some meeting I didn’t know about?”

Bruce laughs, “Um, no.” Then glances at his husband for an answer. The blonde only shrugs his shoulders, eyes wide and face curled awkwardly. “Came to invite Helen out for drinks later on tonight, but she’s busy, so… He trails off, trying to make his lie seem believable. 

Tony narrows his eyes, “Huh.” 

From his pocket, the shorter man can feel his phone vibrate.

 

_Thor_

Can we get ice cream after this?

 

The brunette resist the strong urge to roll his eyes, mint chocolate chip ice cream is all Thor has been thinking about since he had the ultrasound jelly wiped from his stomach. He promised he’d get them some, but they had yet to get to their car.

“Is this an ultrasound?” Tony asks as he plucks the picture from Bruce’s fingers.

He sighs, “Yeah, it’s um.” Thor grips his left hand tightly. “My cousin’s, she’s pregnant and she sent us this in the mail. The tower is the last address she has.”

Tony hums, “Her baby looks like an alien.”

“Fuck off.” Thor snaps, Bruce’s arm pulling him closer as he prepares to take a defensive step forward. Then, he huffs, “Can we go?”

The man rolls his eyes, “What’s your problem?”

“My _problem_ is that I want to fuck my husband, but we keep getting distracted.” Thor bites back, letting go of the brunettes hand and leaving out of the front door.

Bruce watches Tony’s surprised face with wide eyes, “I’m sorry, he’s- I gotta go.” And with that, he leaves as well.

He doesn’t even want to think about what’s going through Tony’s mind right now. The man already thinks that every time he and Thor leave early from a dinner party that they’re off doing something _naughty_. Most of the time Bruce gets tired of all the people, only sometimes are they actually doing what people think.  

“Hey.”

 The blonde turns around, a slightly annoyed look on his face. 

“Were you serious about wanting to fuck?”

He laughs, “Shut up.”


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thor and bruce talk about the privacy of their pregnancy. peter comes to visit!

A french documentary plays on the screen in front of them, scenes in black and white, and captions in a small font at the bottom. Bruce is paying close attention despite the fact he’s seen the film many times before, eyes captivated by the interesting story of a photographer. Thor is paying attention too, but he’s still a bit annoyed due to the fact that Bruce roped him into watching a documentary. He found them incredibly dull and boring no matter the subject, and much rather preferred to watch action movies.  


  


However, he picked last week. Today is Bruce’s turn, and unfortunately he chose something for Thor to fall asleep on. 

  


Many eventful things happened today, ending with the men getting their ice cream and buying a picture frame for the ultrasound. The both of them are happy, content, Bruce snuggled warmly into his husbands chest, eyes threatening to flutter closed despite his love for the film. He looks up at him, watches his brown and blue eye and smiles a bit.

  


Thor catches him, “Hi.” 

  


“Hi.” His cheeks warm up despite having no shame, “We keepin’ this thing a secret?”

  


His brows furrow, “What thing?”

  


Bruce glances down at his stomach, “You know, the  _ thing _ .” There’s a small smile on his face when his husband’s frown only deepens. 

  


“Dear Odin, you-” Thor shuts his eyes for a moment before continuing, “Don’t call our baby a  _ thing _ .”

  


“I’m joking, you know that I love our little alien baby.” Bruce sits up, a twinkle in his brown eyes. 

  


Thor looks like he wants to kill him. 

  


Bruce laughs.

  


“I’m still pissed about that, you know.” He shakes his head, “ _ That’s _ why we aren’t telling people, to avoid idiotic comments like that.”

  


“Makes sense, I also read somewhere that you’re not supposed to tell a lot of people until after the first trimester. Just in case something goes wrong.”

  


Thor scrunches his face up, “Those are normal people rules, love.  _ I  _ am a god,  _ the  _ god of fertility, the rules of Midguardians don’t apply to me.”

Bruce tries very hard not roll his eyes at his husband’s fake arrogance. He knows very well that Thor is familiar with pain and suffering, the world took away his parents and his kingdom, and stuck him on earth to deal with the aftermath. Many times where human rules ‘shouldn’t have applied’ left him wounded, and he knows that.

  


His words are a mask that Bruce can see right through. 

  


Both of them know that gods aren’t exempt from cruelty.

  


Instead of challenging his words, he hums, “Don’t jinx us.”

  


“We can tell a few people.”  Thor proposes, shrugging his shoulders. “Loki was the first to know, I couldn’t imagine telling anyone else before. Besides you, anyway, but…” He trails off and Bruce tries not to look so guilty. “Valkyrie found out right after, it was like she could  _ smell  _ it on me. Super weird.”

  


Bruce couldn’t even tell. For weeks, they’d seen each other every day and he couldn’t even  _ tell _ . The blonde looks at him expectantly so he attempts to chuckle away the sinking feeling in his stomach.

  


Thor rubs the area where his husband’s brows have unconsciously come together, “Don’t fret, my love. All that matters to me is that you’re here  _ now _ .” He simultaneously hates and loves the way he can sometimes read his mind. 

  


“You’ll always have me.” Bruce promises, grabbing his hand and gripping it tightly. French drones on in the background, but he tunes it out.

  


Thor grins down at him, “I know.”

  


His head tilts upward, eyes longing before he understands and meets him halfway, pulling his mouth in for a tender kiss. Thor stares at him when they finally separate, hand moving from beneath the blanket to brush gently against his cheek. His blue eye sparkles when Bruce mumbles, “You taste like mint chocolate chip.” Smiling, then pulling him in for another kiss. 

  


Thor tongue brushes against his bottom lip, and Bruce opens himself completely, gladly accepting his mouth and showing his gratitude by kissing back eagerly. They continue this for some time, soft kissing escalating into something else entirely. 

  


The french film long forgotten.

  
  


…

  


“When we add somasine to this solution, what do you think is going to happen?” Bruce points to a small container of red powder sitting next to a beaker of clear, slightly bubbling liquid. He glances at the boy beside him underneath goggles and glasses, not missing the small smile building on his face. 

  


“Will it blow up?” Peter wonders, body leaning over the table to gaze above the mixture. 

  


Bruce raises his eyebrows, “Is that wishful thinking?”

  


Peter huffs a laugh, glancing up at the man, “Maybe.” He wears a clean, crisp lab coat, identical to the man’s in every way, but except where it reads  _ ‘Bruce’  _ his reads,  _ ‘Petyr’  _ (Thor’s to blame for this, he’d said he didn’t know anyone who didn’t spell it that way).

  


The misspelling was made almost two years ago, when he’d been gifted the coat after helping Bruce finish up some projects. Now it’s normal for him to be over, the two of them working hard on an experiment or just Bruce helping him with his science homework. Along with his father, the two men use their unique genius to teach him something new everyday. 

  


When he’s in his father’s workshop, he gets to build things and sometimes (knowing Tony) shit will blow up. And when he’s with his Uncle Bruce, he gets to do a bunch of wild experiments where shit always blows up (seriously, they have to keep  _ several  _ fire extinguishers in their home). 

  


Anyway, it’s a win-win.

  


Bruce uses his pointer finger to guide Peter’s body off of the table and a safe distance away from the mix of chemicals. Then, carefully dashes the red powder inside of the beaker. Nothing happens at first, both men looking intently and waiting for a reaction.

  


Then, the mixture completely disappears. Where there was once a beaker filled with red powder and bubbling liquid, now slowly morphs into a completely clean beaker. Devoid of any moisture, color, or evidence that an experiment even took place.

  


Peter hums, a frown on his face.

  


Bruce chuckles at the expression, picking up the glass with gloved fingers. “Don’t look so excited.” 

  


“Sorry, we just, normally do cooler stuff.”

  


“Hey.” Bruce exclaims, looking mock hurt. “This is  _ plenty _ cool. You can use this to soak up moisture and clean up spills easier, it’s like a liquid mop.” He takes the bealer over to the sink and begins thoroughly rinsing it out, even adding soap to assure that there are no remnants of the previous chemicals left. 

  


“Really?” The brunette looks more interested now, blinking once before speaking, “What can this do with sweat?”

  


“Sweat?” He laughs. 

  


“Yeah.” 

  


He shrugs his shoulders, “I mean you’d have to dilute all the chemicals to make sure you aren’t harmed by them. But, theoretically, it  _ can  _ be used to clean sweat.”   


Peter hums again, “Yeah, just like I thought.” He smiles, “Practically useless.” He takes a step back from the table, and begins to pull off his rubber gloves. 

  


“Goggles first,  _ then _ gloves.” Bruce reminds in a mumble, Peter then using his left hand with the remaining glove on it to pull off his goggles. 

  


Then, he retorts, “You’re getting to be a real smart ass, Rogers-Stark.” 

  


Peter grins, “I take after my father, Banner-Odinson.” 

  


Bruce narrows his eyes at the young boy before releasing a laugh, “Wash your hands, you little shit. Thor’s making lunch.” With that, he turns around and exits his lab. 

  


When Bruce enters the kitchen, Thor has already finished making their sandwiches and is taking his time plating them. His blue eyes light up when they see him, “Hey, baby.” He smiles, leaning over their countertops to give Bruce a kiss. 

  


He smiles after, “Hey.” 

  


“How was your lab-y stuff? I got a bit worried when I didn’t hear you two shouting over something like usual.” 

  


Bruce shrugs his shoulders, “I expected to get the normal reaction of awe, but when I showed him the somasine moisture thing he didn’t seem that impressed.”

  


Thor’s face scrunches up, “Weellll.” 

  


His face falls flat, “Are you kidding? Moisture stuff is  _ always _ fun.”

  


“First off, gross.” 

  


Bruce rolls his eyes.

  


“Second off, maybe not to a 15 year old boy who just wants to see shit blowing up.” Thor smiles at something from behind his head, “Speak of the tiny devil.” 

  


He looks over his shoulder to see Peter wiping his dripping wet hands on his jeans, an awkward smile on his face. “Hi.” 

  


“Hello.” Thor returns the smile fondly, “You ready for lunch?” 

  


Peter walks up to the kitchen counter, “Only if we’re blowing it up.” His eyes light up at his plate of a turkey sandwich, apple slices with peanut butter, baby carrots with ranch, and a few cubes of cheese. Smiling when he tells them, “I haven’t had a lunch like this since kindergarten.”

  


Thor’s cheeks are warm and he kind of wants the earth to swallow him. He and Thor are both giving each other  _ what the fuck _ looks. Except Bruce’s means, what the fuck? Did you seriously project your weird, fatherly instincts onto our nephew? And Thor’s means, what the fuck? I didn’t even know I had weird, fatherly instincts. 

  


“Whaat’s with the looks?” Peter questions, looking between them. 

  


Bruce opens his mouth to tell a bad lie, but Thor beats him to it. “Nothing, no looks, shut up and eat your sandwich.” The man snatches his own plate and heads off into their living room. 

  


Peter shoots Bruce a skeptical look but still takes his plate and follows him.

  


The final man stands to follow the others, raising his voice to warn, “You better not get peanut butter on my couch!”

  


“I won’t!” Peter’s voice rings back. 

  


Bruce grabs his plate with a shake of his head, “I was talking to Thor!” 

  


…

  


All three of them are sitting comfortably on the couch, Peter stretches his legs out obnoxiously on one end of the couch, and Thor does the same thing on the other end, leaving Bruce stuck in between large feet and mismatched socks. It doesn’t bother him too much, they’re watching The Lego Movie together, because the kid suggested it and he’d made every Avenger watch it so far except for Bruce. 

  


So far, he’s impressed with the plot and keeps laughing at all of the jokes (even the stupid ones). Thor laughs along too (especially at the stupid ones), and they’re both enthralled in a scene with batman in it. Which is why Bruce nearly jumps out of his skin when Peter speaks.

  


“Is it cool with you guys if I stay the night?”

  


Thor doesn’t look away from the TV, a laugh on his lips, “Yeah, sure.” 

  


Bruce watches the look of relief that spreads over Peter’s face, he glances down at his phone and then grips it tight. Eventually, he catches Bruce staring and he blinks, “What?” He’s been doing weird things like that all day, constantly checking his phone and looking anxious every time he puts it away. 

  


Normally, he wouldn’t comment on it. Peter is a teenager and sometimes teenagers have bad days, it’s not a big deal. But it’s just a little too weird for him to ignore. 

  


“Are you okay?”

  


He looks up from his black screen, “Yeah, I’m good.” 

  


“Okay.” Bruce shrugs, unconvinced, turning his head back to the movie. 

  


Two seconds later, “Are  _ you  _ okay?”

  


“Um, yes.” He replies, giving Peter a strange look. 

  


The boy holds up his hands in innocence, “I’m just, ya’ know, making sure we’re all okay.” He leans forward on the couch to look at his blonde uncle, “Thor, you okay?” 

  


“Aye.” He confirms, eyes glued to the screen and a smile on his face. 

  


“See, we’re all okay.” 

  


Bruce stares at the kid for a moment with a deep frown before, “For some reason I feel like you’re not okay.” 

  


Peter sighs, “Uncle Bruce-”

  


“Don’t lie, Peter. I can see that something is wrong, and if you don’t want to tell me, then, that’s cool.” Bruce curses himself for saying ‘that's cool’ but felt it was the best way to come off as non threatening. It’s like, he’s telling the boy what he would have wanted to hear when he was growing up. “But if you do, I’ll be here.”

A look of guilt crosses the teen’s face, mouth curled into a frown and slightly parted to speak when he’s interrupted. 

  


“You’re avoiding your parents, aren’t you?” Thor asks, finally breaking his attention away from the childrens film. His tone isn’t invading, and he looks nonchalant laid back on the couch with a fuzzy blanket up to his ears.

  


The two men look at Peter expectantly, watching his ears turn red and his shoulders shrug. 

  


“I’m not  _ avoiding  _ them.” He mumbles finally, after a long silence. “They’re trying to work things out, I guess. Which, hasn’t been terrible, just different. My pops moved back in, but, I don’t know, they’re still arguing.”

  


“Oh.” 

  


“Yeah, oh. I mean, they’re already divorced, w-why should I have to hear them say awful things to each other? And my dad is dealing with it the only way he knows how to, drinking and working. H-he doesn’t even notice me anymore.” Peter looks uncomfortable under their gaze, he keeps breaking eye contact and staring at a place on the floor while he taps his hand against his thigh. 

  


Bruce and Thor exchange a look, and the blonde looks absolutely lost on what he’s supposed to say. The other man, however, knows exactly how the kid is feeling. 

  


“How long have you been gone?” He asks softly, pushing up the nose of his glasses.

Peter swallows, eyes flickering between the two of them before resting back on the ground. Full of shame when he mumbles, “Three days.” 

  


“Odin’s beard.” Thor curses under his breath. 

  


“And no one has called me! Doesn’t that tell you something?” Peter exclaims, sitting up straight now, full of frustration. “Their son has been gone for three entire  _ days  _ and they haven’t even sent me a text message asking me if I’m alive!” 

  


“Peter…” Bruce sighs, moving toward him. 

  


“No.” His voice cracks, big brown eyes welling with tears. “I don’t- c-can I go to sleep now?” 

  


The doctor bites his bottom lip, he hates seeing a kid that sweet so upset. He knew that Tony had Steve had begun to forgive each other for What Happened, but he had no idea that Steve had moved back in, or that they were gonna try things again. Tony would have mentioned it, if it wasn’t working out, if it’s like Peter says it is.

  


“Of course, Peter. You know where the guest room is.” 

  


Both of the men watch as Peter stands up from the couch, takes the blanket with him, and walks with quiet sniffles all of the way to their guest room. As soon as they hear the soft click of his door, they turn to each other. 

  


Thor has his eyebrows raised, “Yikes.”

  


He sighs, “Don’t say yikes.”

  


“How else would you describe that?”

  


Bruce rubs the back of his neck, trying to search for a word that could sum up what just happened. Unfortunately, all he can think of is, “Yikes.”

  


“Exactly.” 

  


“We’re taking his ass home first thing tomorrow.” Bruce sighs, a bad feeling creeping into his chest. “Who knows where he’s been staying all this time?” His hands fiddle with a lock of curls on the side of his head, tugging anxiously and staring off into the distance. 

  


“Where would  _ you  _ stay?” A gentle voice asks him, their large hand reaching up to halt his actions. 

  


Bruce grips his hair tighter before letting go completely, “Anywhere.” His eyes meet Thor’s. “Friend’s couches, youth shelters, sometimes even on the street. At the time I thought that anywhere was better than home. Which, I guess didn’t matter because I got beat on the street  _ and  _ I got beat at home.” He squirms under Thor’s gaze.

  


It wasn’t hard for him to tell that Peter hadn’t been home in a while. Back when his parents would only argue, he couldn’t stand to be around them either. When the conflict escalated into abuse, his mother would tell him to find a friend’s house to spend the night at- she never wanted him to see her get hurt.

  


Bruce was always grateful for that, no matter how futile her attempts were.

  


Thor gently rubs his thumb against the back of his hand, “I’m sorry.”

  


“S’not your fault.”

  


It’s silent between them as he’s pulled into a hug. Back against chest, while Thor’s chin rests comfortably on the top of his head. Large arms wrap around his front, pulling him even closer than before, and Bruce isn’t ashamed of the way he melts into it. 

  


“If it makes you feel any better.” Thor says, after a while. “That was some awesome dad-ing.” 

  


“Yeah?” Bruce grins, turning his head to find a similar smile behind him. 

  


The blonde nods, “ _Oh_ _yeah_.” He chuckles after, and it vibrates Bruce’s back. 

  


“Well, you weren’t so bad either.” 

  


“Why, thank you.” 

  


He raises his eyebrows, “Did you spend a lot of time avoiding your parents?” 

  


“Along with my responsibilities, of course.”

  


Bruce chuckles, they both do, then they settle into another comfortable silence. For a while they just listen to each other breathe, eventually syncing together so that their chests rise and fall in unison. It’s nice. 

  


“Peter will be okay.” Thor nudges his arm a bit, “He’s strong like you.” 

  


Bruce smiles, even though he’s still worried and stressed and incredibly guilty for not noticing the kid sooner, he smiles. “I hope so.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was sadder (and longer) than i intended but um, it's also long overdue! hope you guys enjoyed (:

**Author's Note:**

> transferring writing from googledocs to ao3 is way harder than it should be! hope you guys enjoyed this. comment down below some cute things you wanna see happen and i might include them in later chapters! love you guys (:


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